Broken No More
by Dr. Feelgood122191
Summary: Self-insert. When a young man stops to comfort a distraught woman at a park, his life will never be the same...Rated M to be safe. Discontinued due to lack of interest.
1. The Beginning Of A Very Screwed Up Life

A/N: Alright, for those of you who have read this story before, you will have noticed that chapters 3, 4 and 5 have all been taken down. I thought about it a lot, and decided in the end that the storyline just wasn't going to work out. So, let me set a few things straight here.

Zach will only have three Sekirei; Akitsu and Uzume will still be a part of that group, and the final Sekirei will be Miya, although she won't join the team until much later in the story. Uzume also won't be winged immediately, only being winged by Zach some time after Zach and Akitsu move into the Izumo Inn. I already have an explanation to why Miya can still be winged, but that'll wait until later.

Minato will be showing up, and he will be retaining all of his Sekirei, although he will gain a couple more, Shiina and Yume, who will join up when Ku does, and at the end of what would be season one in the show (when Musubi is defeated) respectively. Yukari will make some appearances, but she will not be an Ashikabi.

Zach will be living in the same apartment that Minato was, although he will not know Minato had lived there previously. Seo and the twins do make appearances, although their role will be mostly comic relief.

Also assume that everyone is aware of the Sekirei Plan, with the exception of Zach (who, at the time of the announcement, was out of the country, and also doesn't bother to pay attention to the news and such).

The story begins literally hours after Minato rescues Ku (along with Shiina), and after Mikogami abandons Akitsu, calling her worthless and such.

Mikogami will have more of a role in this story (mostly just being the main antagonist to Zach and Akitsu), while Higa's role will be basically trying to blackmail Uzume (thusly being her antagonist), although Higa won't make an appearance for awhile.

Chapter three will be up as soon as I get the chance to write it; my next few days are going to be hectic, but I'll try to get some writing time in (I'm currently also trying to beat Tales of the Abyss, so that's taking up some of my time too).

Wow. Half a page of just one huge author note…ahem. Anyway, without further ado, here's Broken No More!

Chapter One: The Beginning Of A Very Screwed Up Life

If you had told me all those years ago that I was about to become part of a madman's sadistic plan for his own personal amusement, I would've laughed at you and called you crazy. If you had told me that I was about to come across super-powered humans and that I'd be the 'master' of a whole group of them, I would've called the police. If you had told me that the same group I was going to be the 'master' of would end up being my harem (or at least that's what everyone calls it), I would've made sure that you'd be put in a mental institution if it was the last thing I did. But then I'd need to get you released later, seeing as how you would end up being correct. Oh? What's that? You want to hear the story? It's kinda long, and I'm sure you'll get bored. Oh? You promise you won't? All right, if you insist…

It all began one evening, a rather cold one at that. It was even in the middle of summer, and somehow it was still chilly. Damn global warming. Or would it be cooling? Damn being politically correct. Anyway, I was on my way back to my apartment. I grimaced at the thought; I really hated my landlord. He was kind of a prick. He would always randomly show up to 'check in on me'; in other words, being nosy and sticking his nose into something that wasn't his business. Therefore, being nosy. Yes. So, continuing on with my story, I was walking through a pretty popular park, figuring a bit extra fresh air would do me good. It would turn out to be a life-changing experience. Go figure.

So I was walking through the park, as I said, and I happened to look over at one of the benches. Sitting there was a woman. Yes, shocking I know. A woman, sitting on a bench at a park. That's quite rare these days, dontcha know? Ahem. Sarcasm aside, it was her clothing and the tattoo on her forehead that caught my attention. For one thing, she seemed to be wearing some form of informal dress. If that wasn't enough, the tattoo on her forehead was pretty abnormal too. It looked like a bird that was flying above a ying-yang sign, with two comma marks on either side of the ying-yang sign. Curious, I approached her. I got within five feet of her when I noticed something was wrong. She seemed so…sad. I almost felt like I was going to burst into tears just by seeing the depressed look on her face. So, being the chivalrous person I am, I went up to her. She looked up at me with a curious expression, which almost made my heart melt, which, in retrospect, would be considered ironic. Hmm? Why would it be considered ironic? Hang on, I'm getting there. Can't expect me to tell the story while you're constantly asking questions, now can you? I didn't think so.

"Err…not to intrude or anything but…are you alright?" I asked, hoping that she wouldn't label me as a weirdo or anything.

"…I am…a failure…I am…broken…Nobody would want me…" She replied. Now if that doesn't tug on your heartstrings, you are a complete asshole. No exceptions.

Not knowing exactly what to say to that, I swallowed, hoped that I was saying the right thing (or at least what she wanted to hear), and said, "Now, I don't really understand what you're talking about…but I don't think you're useless, or whatever."

Apparently that did the trick, because the next thing I knew, she was hugging me tightly, sobbing. Putting one arm around her, patting her head with my opposite hand, I spoke consoling words to her, being careful with what words I used (didn't want to accidentally upset her, after all). Sure, we got strange looks from people (some even threw me a disgusted glance, while others gave me a knowing look; one kid looked kinda pissy, as if I had done something he was going to do. Oh well. You snooze, you lose), but I ignored them. After awhile, she calmed down, and she sat back up, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm sorry for troubling you with this…" she said morosely.

"Oh no, not at all. I'm just happy I was able to help. It would've left a bad taste in my mouth to leave you just sitting here looking all depressed." '_I'm also glad I didn't accidentally upset you any further…' I privately thought, thinking that it would be unwise to say something like that at the given moment._

"_Heh…I wish someone like you could be my Ashikabi…" she said._

"_What do you mean?" I asked. I had never heard of the term before, or maybe I was just naïve. But she seemed to take for granted that I knew what she was talking about, and she continued on._

"_Well…I'm broken, so I can never be winged…" It was then that she seemed to realize that I didn't have a clue what she meant. "Oh! I'm sorry…I must be confusing you…Just please forget about what I was saying…"_

_Now, I had a few choices here. One, I could agree to her request and forget about what she was talking about. I didn't choose that one. I could also just leave it at that, and ask her later, provided that I would've met her again. I didn't choose that one either. So I'm sure you know what I did._

"_No please, tell me. Whatever it is, I want to help you. And I can't really do that if I don't understand what you're talking about. Please…" I was almost begging her. Me. Begging her. Yes, it's quite absurd, isn't it? Well, you try resisting that depressed look. It makes you want to do anything to never have to see it again._

_She looked at me hesitantly for a few moments, and nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you…but can we go somewhere a bit more…private? I wouldn't like to be overheard…"_

"_Ah, of course. Hmm…Why don't we go back to my apartment? It's private enough; just don't talk too loud, and I'll need to make sure that the landlord isn't snooping around…but other than that, it should be perfect." I replied, smiling. This was going great; Not only was I helping her out, but also…No, I shouldn't be thinking of perverted things like that. She was a friend (yes, I'm quick to call others my friend; leave me alone), and I was helping her. So what if she was beautiful, and she was coming to my apartment…with just the two of us being there…Oh my god, I was going to be in my singles-only apartment with a beautiful girl! …I just hope the landlord doesn't catch us…_


	2. The Chapter Title Won't Even Fit Here!

Chapter Two: Super powerful humans? Big boobed women? Harems? Count me in!

We arrived at my apartment a half hour later. After quickly making sure that the landlord was nowhere to be found (which I was delighted to discover that he wasn't), we headed inside. My apartment wasn't too shabby, if I do say so myself. A bit run-down, but it's better than a cardboard box or something. A T.V sat on the ground next to the window in the main room; a few game systems were scattered around it, with the games being equally scattered around. I prefer western style beds, so I had one sitting in the middle of the room, just within reach of the controllers for the game systems. A laptop was plugged into the wall not too far from the game systems. My clothes were packed inside of a dresser that was close to my closet, which held a few boxes, as well as more clothes. I had to say I was proud of myself; despite the mess in the living room, everywhere else was kept clean (or as clean as possible). The kitchen had only a few dishes that needed washing; the bathroom was as close to being spotless as it could be. Offering the strange young woman that would change my life a chair that was folded against the wall, I sat down on my bed, facing towards her, and waited for her to start speaking. She seemed to hesitate for a few seconds more, before launching into her story.

A couple hours later, my mind was officially blown. I still couldn't believe it. What she had told me was that she was a Sekirei, aliens of sorts that were almost exactly like humans, except they had super powers (or that's what I got out of it anyway). She also explained that an Ashikabi was someone who could 'wing' a Sekirei, drawing out their true potential. In order to wing a Sekirei, you needed to kiss each other. Not only that, but you needed to kiss again to use this very powerful attack, also known as a Norito. She went on to explain how the president of M.B.I was doing this 'Sekirei Plan' for his own personal amusement, and how she was a 'discarded' Sekirei, and that she could no longer be winged. She also mentioned that she had had a previous Ashikabi who had discarded her to the side once she had failed a mission he had sent her on not even hours ago.

As I said, mind-blowing, no? But it helped me understand her situation. No wonder she was calling herself broken and such. So, I felt that I needed to ask the question.

"Are you sure you can't be winged? Isn't there some sort of loophole or something you could use?"

She shook her head sadly. "None that I know of, or that anyone does."

I frowned. That was unfair to her, it truly was. It was like buying a bag of candy, then getting told you can't eat any of it. Of course, if it were me, I'd eat the bag of candy anyway, but that's not the point here.

"Well…have you ever tried being winged?" I asked.

"…No…it's just that…you see, once a Sekirei is winged, this mark," she pointed to her forehead, "appears on the back of their neck, or around that area."

"But yours is on your forehead," I pointed out.

"Correct. That's proof enough that I cannot be winged." she said sadly.

"…You know, that's a pretty pessimistic attitude to take about it. You don't even know for sure that you can't be winged, simply because you haven't tried it. Who knows? It might actually work. Don't take things for granted like that." I said, finally getting somewhat pissy due to the unfairness of it all.

"…" She seemed shocked that I had said that, but then she smiled and said, "…You may be right. In that case…would you consider…being my Ashikabi?" she asked, shyly.

"Well, as troublesome as this whole 'Sekirei Plan' sounds, I already know too much. Even if I said no, I'd still feel the need to do something. That, and I don't like turning my back on my friends." She blushed slightly when I said that. "So, yes. I accept."

I was determined to wing her. Even if it took all night to do it, kissing her in an attempt to wing her, I'd do it. Besides, she made it sound like this Minaka guy would try to silence me or something if I knew about the Sekirei Plan and wasn't a part of it, so I might as well try. It was then that I realized something very important.

"Err…I almost forgot. We never introduced ourselves, did we?" I asked. She paused, then laughed sheepishly as she seemingly realized it too. "Sorry, I got caught up in the moment. My name is Akitsu, the Ice Sekirei. I don't have a number anymore, but my previous number was 07. And you are…?"

"Zach." And with that, I pulled her in and pressed my lips to hers. At first nothing happened. Akitsu pulled away, the sad look once again on her face. "I guess I really can't be winged…oh well. We tried, Zach. But I'll still be your Sek-" She never finished her sentence as I pulled her in for another kiss. And another. And another. After fifteen kisses, I was beginning to lose hope. But then I crushed any thoughts of giving up, and I brought her back in once again. This time, however, something different happened. For one thing, her tongue somehow ended up in my mouth. Now that didn't bother me much. It was the bright lights and the wings exploding out of her back is what interrupted the otherwise romantic/lustful moment. It seemed this was the winging process that Akitsu had spoke of. The lights soon faded, as did the wings, and Akitsu looked dumbfounded.

"Z-Zach…" she mumbled. "W-we did it…We did it Zach!" And she tackled me, hugging me and beginning to cry, which made things kinda awkward for a moment. After she calmed down (and I reminded her to keep her voice down), she smiled and whispered, "Thank you." I blushed, and looked away, embarrassed.

"It was nothing…" I murmured. Then, another realization hit me. "Say, do you have any place to stay?"

"No I don't…unfortunately." she replied.

"W-well…you can stay here for the night, if you'd like…I'll just need to keep you hidden from the landlord, seeing as how this is a single's apartment…" Now I was really embarrassed. Yeah, idiot, invite her to spend the night. Why don't you also ask her to sleep in the same bed as you, do weird things until the middle of the night, and then wake up in the morning with your head on her boobs. Yeah, like she'll really consider staying with-

"Well, I do have an obligation to stay with you now…and I also need to protect my Ashikabi…So, yes, I think I shall." She said, smiling with that smile I was beginning to like a lot.

…I don't know whether I should be happy or if I should cry. Ahem.

"Well, it's a little late to go buy a futon or something for you…so you can have the bed. I just need a pillow and a blanket, and I'll be set-" I said, before Akitsu cut me off.

"No. It is fine to share the bed." She said, firmly.

"Erm…are you sure? That bed isn't exactly the biggest, and I take up a lot of room…"

"It'll be fine." She insisted.

It was quite fine, actually. But not in the way she thought. I was up most of the night trying to keep myself under control. It didn't seem like she wore a bra, so her rather nice assets were pressing up against my chest all night.

I just hoped I didn't wake up with an embarrassing problem in the morning…


	3. Meeting a New Friend, and

A/N: Well, here's chapter three. A bit more interaction between Akitsu and Zach, and the introduction of a few more characters.

I've kind of got an idea on how this story is going to progress, and since I'm such a nice guy, I'm willing to tell all of you the general idea on how this story is going to go. Of course, I have no idea how many chapters there are going to be, but I'm aiming for at least 30 to 40, if not more.

Anyway, the way the story is going to be like this:

First Arc: Introductions

This arc will only last for a few chapters, 7 at most (probably). These will be those chapters in which we meet most of the cast, have loads of character development, and have everyone become chums and all that. Keep in mind that Zach will only have Akitsu as his sole Sekirei during this arc, while Minato will have Musubi, Matsu, Ku, and Shiina.

Second Arc: Mikogami

This arc focuses more on action, with Akitsu's former 'master', Mikogami, declaring war on Zach and his 'protector', the Ashikabi of the North (aka Minato). The reason? For the 'theft' of Akitsu. This fits Mikogami's character perfectly, seeing as how he's a rich, spoiled brat, and how he would most likely throw a fit about something like this. Zach still has Akitsu, although I may have Uzume be winged in this arc (see next arc's description for more details), and Minato still has the same Sekirei as before. There will be a couple of chapters at the end of the arc, in which the characters discuss the events of the recent arc and where Minato wings Tsukiumi.

Third Arc: Higa

This arc focuses more on the darker aspects of the Sekirei Plan. The problem is whether Uzume has been winged or not; either she is not winged, and is blackmailed by Higa to do his bidding otherwise he will wipe out the residents of Izumo Inn (although I would seriously like to see him try that with Miya there…), or if she is winged, that she one days meets Chiho (therefore incorporating the sickly young woman into the story) while out grocery shopping (or the like), befriending her, and then Chiho falling ill, which would basically then mirror the events of the original Sekirei storyline (albeit Chiho not being Uzume's Ashikabi). Regardless, by the end of the arc, Zach will have both Akitsu and Uzume, while Minato still retains his Sekirei, although Kazehana starts living at Izumo Inn. There will be an interlude in which the great escape plan of Kuno and Shigi occurs, with Yume joining Minato and having foreshadowing for the next arc.

Fourth Arc: Disciplinary Squad

This arc will focus on the uglier parts of the Sekirei Plan. The Disciplinary Squad takes an unhealthy interest in Minato and Zach's happy little group due to their help with Kuno and Shigi escaping. Kazehana joins Minato almost immediately, while Homura joins more towards the middle of the arc. Just like with Uzume, I'm conflicted on whether I should have Miya join Zach at the end of this arc, in the interlude between this arc and the next arc, or if I should have her join sometime in the next arc (either in the beginning or the middle). Regardless, Zach will have Akitsu, Uzume and possibly Miya at the end of this arc, while Minato has all of his Sekirei (Musubi, Ku, Shiina, Matsu, Tsukiumi, Yume, Kazehana, and Homura).

Fifth Arc: Finale

This arc brings about the end of Minaka's mad scheme. Minato discovers that he and his sister Yukari are actually the children of Minaka, and feels even more obligated to stop the Sekirei Plan. The first half of this arc is going to be based on exactly that: ending the Sekirei Plan. The other half will be saving the Sekirei, reactivating/resurrecting the Sekirei who were defeated/killed, and the fallout and such. May end with a few (hopefully) humorous omakes, although those will likely be side projects, but that is only if I actually decide to follow through with that idea.

Anyway, for those of you who like to review, let me know your opinion on the situation with Uzume and Miya, despite their arcs still being quite a bit away.

Now that I've got a full page of author's notes…On with the story!

Chapter Three: Meeting a New Friend, and Being Kicked Out

Thankfully, we went the whole night without a hitch, and even the next morning went rather smoothly, although I quickly discovered that Akitsu had no understanding of what the word 'modesty' meant…

"GAH! Akitsu! P-put some clothes on!"

Insert nosebleed here.

Insert even bigger nosebleed when a still naked Akitsu gets even closer, worried about the amount of blood I was losing.

…Yeah, that's one way to start the morning. Works better than a cup of coffee. Although it DOES have the chance of doing the exact opposite…and knocking you back out. Which, in my case, the latter occurred.

The good news is that it was a good excuse for a beautiful woman to take care of me in my time of…need. Yes, let's go with that…

But I digress.

After finally managing to get ready (after assuring Akitsu that I was fine and didn't need help bathing, which would've sent us back to square one), it came to my attention that some shopping was desperately needed. For one thing, Akitsu really needed some more clothes. For another, I was going to need some more food with two people to feed instead of just me.

Or I could just get the food and forget the clothes. After all, I'd be perfectly fine with Akitsu wearing very little or absolutely nothing. 'Course, the woman is so absent-minded that she's prone to forgetting clothes to begin with…as I found out about halfway into town, when a violent wind kicked up and blew up her dress.

Insert another nosebleed here. A very violent nosebleed.

For that matter, insert many nosebleeds coming from anyone else around who managed to get a good look at Akitsu's…ahem, DOWNSTAIRS, if you catch my drift. Oh? You don't catch my drift? Well too bad, I ain't telling ya what it means. Go ask your parents; maybe they'll tell ya.

But I'm getting WAY off subject here. Anyway, we headed into a clothes store first, seeing as how the groceries would probably expire by the time we got done, although honestly I didn't peg Akitsu as the type to take a few centuries to pick out some clothes. In retrospect, that idea was probably one of my better ones, seeing as how it would change mine and Akitsu's life from there on.

From the few times I was forced to go shopping with girls who liked to shop for hours on end, I was truly terrified at the thought of Akitsu turning out like that. It was to my relief that she didn't seem to be too interested in shopping, and thankfully didn't ask me any of those dreaded questions that girls like to ask guys…

However, as fate would have it, we were interrupted by another woman just before we had gotten to the checkout.

"Hey! Is that all you're going to buy? Yeesh, for a girl, you have pretty boring tastes…" I looked at the clothes Akitsu had picked out; sure, they weren't incredibly sexy or anything like that, but it's not like they were THAT bad or anything…

Or maybe I'm just in denial and not willing to admit that I was disappointed that she wasn't dressing up for me like a model. You decide what you want to believe.

"Is that your boyfriend? Don't you think you're going to disappoint him with just those?" Huh. She took the words right outta my mouth…

I finally bothered to look at who was talking to us, and I swore my eyes nearly popped out of my head and my jaw nearly shattered upon making contact with the ground. This woman was absolutely freaking GORGEOUS! I mean, Akitsu's body is nothing to laugh at-many girls would kill just to have her body-but this woman…wow. Akitsu's boobs are pretty nice sized, but this woman's rack could bitch-slap you from three feet away, allow you to properly motorboat them from two, and suffocate you from one. In short? MARSHMALLOW HEAVEN! …Or Hell. It could go either way.

Anyway, enough from the peanut gallery.

While I was busy having a few not-so-pure thought about this new woman, I failed to notice her grabbing Akitsu and heading back to the changing room…grabbing half of the clothes in the store to take with them. Of course, according to Japan, the following situation had to happen…

"Wow, your boobs are pretty big! But I think mine are bigger! Want to compare?"

…I really think that I'm going to need to visit the hospital by the end of the day.

…I also hope that none of my blood got on any of these clothes.

Five tortuous hours later, Akitsu and the other chick were finally ready. Thankfully, the woman said she'd pay for all of the clothes, leaving me to believe that she was loaded and had a lot of money to waste. Yay, more groceries for us then!

As we left, the woman turned to us, grinning. "Well, that was fun. Glad to meet you. My name's Uzume. What's yours?"

"The name's Zach. This is my Sekirei, Akitsu." I replied, shaking her hand.

"Oh? An Ashikabi, are you? Well I'll be. I'd best be careful around you!" she said, smirking.

"Huh? What do you-" Realization hit me. "Wait. You're a Sekirei, too?"

"Yep. Sekirei Number 10! At your service." she bowed dramatically.

I was beginning to like this girl; she seemed nice enough, if not a bit…on second thought, I'm not going to finish that sentence. Fortunately, she managed to take my mind off of that track before too long.

"So anyway, I have to go grocery shopping for the place where I'm staying at; it's a pain to buy that much food for so many people…"

Akitsu spoke for the first time during this encounter. "We were also on our way to the grocery store. Mind if we accompany you?" I cocked my head at this; what was Akitsu playing at…?

"Oh? Are you sure it isn't just because you two want to hang around with me?" Uzume smirked at this. A regular flirt if I ever saw one…

Although…she appeared to be rather flushed, causing me to wonder if she was sick. Come to think of it, Akitsu had a similar flush when we were-no, that can't be. In any case, Uzume seemed to be playing it off, so I put it out of my mind.

As we shopped, we got into a conversation about where we lived and such. Uzume mentioned a place called Izumo Inn, a place this really powerful Sekirei owned; apparently, her late husband had never turned down a guest, and that's how the Inn had become somewhat of a safe haven for unwinged Sekirei, although it was also the residence of an Ashikabi, someone named Minato, who had already winged four Sekirei. Quite impressive, in comparison to just me and Akitsu. I explained to her where me and Akitsu currently lived, which, ironically, turned out to be the same place Minato had been kicked out of after he had winged his first Sekirei. I had a strange feeling that it wasn't going to be long before the same thing happened to me…

In the end, we went our separate ways, with Uzume waving as she walked away. As we neared our apartment, the thought of this Minato being kicked out of the same place came floating to the front of my brain.

With a slight thrill of horror, I noticed the landlord standing in front of our door. I gulped; this wasn't going to end well.

In the shouting match that followed, we ended up with one week to get out of the apartment. I sighed; great, now where were we going to go? Then something else Uzume said hit me.

A couple of days later, we walked up to an older building, luggage in hand. I noticed a sign that indicated that there was indeed vacancies. I smiled; all to do now was to make a good impression, and hopefully move in.

I looked over to Akitsu; she seemed somewhat afraid of something, although after I reached out and squeezed her hand, she calmed down a bit.

With that, I knocked on the door, and before long an older woman came to the front door. If you asked me, she looked rather motherly, what with the apron and cooking ladle in her hand. Still, age had not been an enemy to this woman; I'd say she was in her prime when it came to beauty.

She smiled and spoke, "Why, hello there. Welcome to the Izumo Inn. How may I help you?"

I took a deep breath; good impression, good impression, GOOD IMPRESSION…

"Er, yes, um, my name's Zach, and this here is my Sekirei Akitsu," Akitsu seemed to pale a bit as she bowed, although admittedly it was hard to tell, seeing as how pale she was to begin with…this must be the Sekirei that Uzume had mentioned. "We had heard from a friend of ours that if we needed a place to stay, this was the place to come to, and we just got kicked out of our apartment, so…here we are." I finished, in a rather lame way.

"Well, my husband never would turn someone down in a time of need," I instantly perked up. "And you seem to be in a bind…very well. Zach, Akitsu, my name's Miya. I am the landlady of Izumo Inn. If you would just step inside, then we can get the paperwork filled out, and then you will be the newest tenants here. Oh, but first would you join us for supper? Thankfully, I made a little extra, so it isn't that big of a deal if you join in."

I gratefully accepted; we both were forced to leave all of our groceries behind thanks to that stingy landlord, so we were currently starving.

As we walked inside, I smiled at Akitsu, who smiled back.

Looks like things were looking up.

A/N 2: Bah. Somehow that ending...just doesn't seem right. Meh. Well, it did give me a good place to start for next chapter, so that's good. I guess. Anyway, as I've said in the first author note, please review and give me opinions! And reviews just might motivate me to type more. Might. If I have enough inspiration and if I don't get writer's block...I've already got a bit for chapter four, so at least it's a start. Bah.


	4. Fitting In, And Character Development

A/N: I want to thank all of my reviewers; all of you rock, seriously. And as for Crossoverpairinglover's question, the answer is: I don't know if I'm going to have any lemons, limes, whatever. I've never really tried to write any yet, so I just don't know. However, there might be some hints and such to such acts, but again, I'm not sure. For now, I'm going to work on trying to keep the story to a nice pace, having character development and whatnot, and focus on the story arcs in general. If I do decide to have lemons and such, they will most likely be at the end of an arc or in an epilogue or an omake.

Writing with writer's block sucks too. But I'm still trying my hardest. The chapters are probably going to be still rather short for awhile yet (usually around 2000 words, according to what my word counter says, although I do have to take out quite a few words due to author's notes and such…), but they should pick up once I get into the next arc.

But enough; let's get this show on the road, shall we?

Chapter Four: Fitting In, and Character Development

We followed Miya into what turned out to be the dining room. So far it was deserted, although with the smell of delicious food, I was sure that wouldn't be the case for long. As we sat down, Miya said, "I assume you two are that couple that Uzume met a couple of days ago, correct?"

"Yes ma'am," I said politely, "And it's a good thing that she mentioned that this place had openings; we were told to get out the second we got back to my old apartment."

"Ah, yes. Uzume did mention that you were living in the place where Minato was staying previously." Miya said, nodding. "Thankfully, we do indeed have a room for you two to live in. And seeing as how you're involved in the Sekirei Plan, rent is free, seeing as how we have a few M. B. I credit cards that have no limit." I mentally sighed in relief; I wasn't sure how I was going to pay rent, seeing as how I had no job. I only had what little money I had left when I came to Japan.

"You two will be expected to do chores and such while you are here, however," she said, a large hannyo mask appearing behind her. I guess it was supposed to be intimidating, but I wasn't scared at all. It seemed Akitsu wasn't as immune to it as I was, for she lost what little color in her face that she had, and began shaking.

"You know, you don't have to try to intimidate us into it; we would've happily agreed to help around this place. After all, you're agreeing to house us; it's the least we could do," I said, trying to prevent Akitsu from going into cardiac arrest from the mask of death that Miya was projecting.

My statement must've shocked Miya, for the mask disappeared. Or maybe it was the fact that I wasn't in danger of soiling myself after seeing the mask. I wasn't entirely sure. But in any case, we were interrupted before the conversation could go any further.

"Oh? Who's this?" Came a man's voice. "Do we have new tenants?" Came another man's voice. Turning, I watched as the owners of the voices entered the room. One man was slightly taller than I was, with silver hair, and he looked even more feminine than I did (my longer hair tended to give people the wrong idea about my gender). The other had unruly black hair, about my height, and seemed like the gentle sort.

They both immediately gained looks of suspicion and wariness, respectively. All of it seemed directed at Akitsu, who looked guiltily away. My brow furrowed, but I said nothing…yet.

Following the men came two rather busty women, a young girl and a young boy, and…

"Zach! Akitsu!" Uzume cried as she came into the room.

"Uzume!" I smiled at the woman as she sat down next to me.

"Fancy meeting you here," Uzume winked at me playfully, "How are you?"

"Just fine; looks like we're going to be living together shortly," I responded.

"Well, now that we're all here, introduce yourselves please," Miya said.

"Right. Well, I'm Zach, and this here is my Sekirei, Akitsu. We hope that you will take care of us." I said respectfully.

"I'm Minato," the dark, spiky-haired man said. "I'm an Ashikabi, just like you; my Sekirei are Musubi," The brown-haired well-endowed women smiled brightly and waved, "Kusano, or Ku for short," the young blonde girl smiled slightly and bowed, "Shiina," the young silver-haired boy bowed, "and Matsu," Minato finished, with the orange-haired woman grinning in a perverse manner, her rather impressive rack bouncing with her slightest movements.

"My name's Homura; I'm Sekirei Number 6, the Fire Sekirei," the other man spoke, "I hope we get along well."

"My name's Uzume!" Uzume cheerfully yelled, causing me to snort in laughter; what a silly woman…

"Well, there you have it. Zach and Akitsu are now official members of Izumo Inn. Now, let's dig in to this wonderful meal, shall we?" Miya smiled; I don't know if anyone else noticed it, but there was a slight strain in her voice. She also frequently looked over at Akitsu, Homura, and Minato often during the meal. Something was definitely up, and it was bugging me. Due to my position at the table, I had somehow ended up next to Minato, much to the obvious annoyance of his Sekirei. 'Perfect.' I thought. Nudging Minato, I muttered just loud enough for him to hear, "Can we talk outside after supper? Just you and me?"

He gave me a curious look, but nodded, and, looking up, we realized that quite obviously, Sekirei's hearing was much better than we had given them credit for; they all had a similar expression on their faces (granted that Matsu's was more of a perverted leer, but whatever), and seemed to all have a similar train of thought-you could practically hear the gears turning in their heads. (My suspicions were confirmed upon seeing smoke starting to come from Musubi's ears, who was obviously not used to using her brain, other than the necessary parts.)

In the end, me and Minato ended up outside, and judging by the lack of Sekirei, it was safe to talk (I had a funny feeling Miya was keeping them all away…but I'm sure that she was listening somewhere nearby).

"Minato," I started, "What's your relationship with Akitsu? You all seemed to be on guard while around her. Did something happen?"

"Well…you see, she was one of the Sekirei who attacked us in a attempt to prevent me from winging Ku and Shiina. Homura was able to fight her off, but…It's a shock to see her here now. Why is she with you? Didn't she have an Ashikabi?" Minato questioned.

"I found her in the park a couple of days before I met Uzume; she was all alone on a bench and was obviously distraught. She was talking about being thrown away by her former master, so I decided to take her in. You can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing, right?"

Minato looked thoughtful for a moment, then chuckled. "I guess you're right…so Mikogami abandoned her after she failed to bring him Ku and Shiina, is that it?"

"Yep. That's what I gather, anyway. She also mentioned something about being a broken number."

"Homura told me about that…she can't be winged officially, right?"

"Well…I guess whatever was 'broken' was fixed, cause after a few times of trying to wing her, it worked."

Minato looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head. "Well, that's all in the past, now. You won't have to worry about looking over your shoulder, expecting Akitsu to be attacked; I'll have a talk with my Sekirei. You might have a problem with Homura, though, so be wary of him." He cautioned.

"Gotcha. Thanks. I hope you don't mind me saying this, but…I think this is the beginning of a great friendship."

The gentle man smiled. "Yes, I think so too. Let's work together to survive this crazy tournament."

He held out his hand, and I quickly grasped it in mine, shaking firmly. We both grinned, and proceeded to walk back inside. Much to my lack of surprise, Miya was standing there, waiting for us. She smiled at us, obviously pleased with our newfound friendship.

Over the next few days, I noticed that everyone had seemed to warm up quite a bit to both me and Akitsu. Typically, I hung out with Minato, Akitsu, or Uzume; it wasn't that I didn't get along with Minato's Sekirei, it was just…I don't know, weird. How weird? Well, it was hard to be around Ku and Shiina due to my rather mature nature, Musubi was as dense as they come, and Matsu…well, I think I've been a target of a few of her perverted fantasies a few times (usually together with Minato and/or Homura, from what Miya told me; the landlady always seemed to know what exactly was going on in the perverted techno-freak's head).

I was on guard around Homura, though. He still seemed to be wary, even somewhat hostile towards Akitsu. It only confirmed things when Akitsu had come up to me one night. Homura had confronted her.

"_Broken number, Akitsu," said a voice. Akitsu, who had been sitting on the roof, looking at the moon, jumped, and quickly took a battle stance. Behind her, Sekirei number 06, Homura, was staring at her, in his own battle stance. Trying to get her breathing under control, Akitsu responded, "Yes, number 06?"_

_Akitsu could feel the heat gathering around Homura; she began to panic inwardly. Wasn't fighting banned in the Inn? Where was Miya to enforce these rules like she normally did? She didn't want to die yet; she had finally found her Ashikabi! Somebody who didn't think she was worthless!_

"…_Why are you here, broken number? Finally got sick of your previous Ashikabi?" Homura asked dangerously. "Figured you'd look for a new one? Trying to get close to Minato and all of us for revenge?"_

"_N-no…I've found an Ashikabi that I can trust."_

"_Oh? Whatever happened to your Sekirei crest on your forehead?"_

"…_It's now on my back. I am officially winged by Zach. I am his Sekirei, now and forever."_

"_Impossible! There's no way that could be! We both know that your body was claimed as unwingable! You were deemed 'broken' as a Sekirei, useless!"_

_Akitsu smiled. "Well, my Ashikabi seems to think otherwise. I am…broken no more."_

Akitsu: 1. Homura: 0.

Booyah.

On that note, the score is actually something like this:

Akitsu: 1. Homura: 0. Minato: 2. Musubi: -5. Ku: 0. Matsu: -10. Miya: We lost count some time after 6350. Me: A proud 52.

Yes, I've been bored enough to keep track of these little things. Musubi only had negative scores due to her denseness. We deducted points from Matsu whenever she did/said something perverted.

Speaking of which, Matsu was almost murdered the other day. Minato had gone shopping with Miya, and Homura had gone off to his job as a host, which left me as the only male in the house. Uzume had gone off somewhere, and Ku was sleeping with Musubi, I presumed.

Oh no, Izumo Inn didn't get attacked or anything. Nothing like that.

She did manage to piss off Akitsu and Miya, though.

It's quite amusing, in retrospect. Y'see, I had been sitting in my room reading a rather interesting fan fiction. The Harry Potter fandom had once again managed to make render me in awe of the absurdness and rather disturbing things they will make one or more character(s) do to another character.

Ahem. Digressing from that particular thought, I had heard a noise. It sounded suspiciously like a door closing; mine, in fact. Looking up, I saw none other than Matsu. Yes, you can probably tell where this is going.

I was instantly on guard; I had learned the hard way to be wary of Matsu, what with her perverted mind and all. Her questions SEEMED innocent enough, but they weren't. She'd normally twist them into some sick twisted tale of lust and whatnot, and I really wasn't willing to go through with that again.

"Zaaaaaaaaaaaaach," she had said.

"Meh." Was my charming response.

"Can I ask a question?"

"You just did. And, no, you can't ask another." I wasn't going to give her the chance to do something that would embarrass me or potentially get me killed by Miya.

"Aww, you're no fun. I just wanted to know what you thought of Mina-tan." She said, pouting.

I sighed; fine, if it would get her out of my room…I'd probably regret it later, but…

"He's a nice guy, I guess. Laid back, caring, and other stuff like that."

Matsu smirked. Oh dear god, no, not THAT smirk…that smirk generally caused me pain and/or suffering. Usually both, but occasionally just one of them.

Huh. That last statement made me realize just how unfair everyone is to me. What a bunch of jerks.

Before I could react anymore than ponder over everything I have just told you, she was right next to me. Close. Very close. Too close. My personal bubble had just been violated, and I was probably never going to get it back.

What a bitch.

Pardoning my French, I quickly back-pedaled away from her. I was NOT getting molested by her. Not this time. Not again…oh the horror…

…Come to think of it, where was my Sekirei? Normally she would've showed up by then…

Oh well.

Continuing on, she kept getting closer to me, and I kept backing away until…

THUMP!

…I hit the wall.

…

…

…

Why the hell was that wall doing there? It shouldn't be there. It's impeding my escape route away from this perverted geek. This hot, perverted geek, I might add. But that's neither here nor there.

Stupid wall. Screw you, wall. I hope you die. I hope you die slowly and painfully.

…Wait, walls can't die, can they?

…

Damn it all.

Matsu finally had gotten WAY to close. I may be a straight male, but I like to think of myself as a gentleman, so I was just going to sit down and take it. I began weighing my options.

Option one: Tackle Matsu, hope I manage to barrel roll over her and into the hallway, where I could get the hell outta Dodge City.

Option two: Sit there, pray to the god of my choice, and hope that whatever she had didn't scar me for life TOO much.

Option three: Freak out, stab her in the face, and run like hell.

Option four: Freak out, stab her in the face, run like hell, find Miya, tell her what happened, then continue running like hell before she can process that the fact that I just killed one of her tenants.

Or, option five: Break down this flimsy wall and make my way towards Akitsu, who could then unleash a can of whoop-ass on this perverted psycho-bitch.

Hmm.

So I turned around, did my best impression of a Falcon Punch, and broke through the wall. It wasn't the best impression, seeing as how a big fiery bird of death and destruction didn't burst forth from my fist and disintegrate my target with the fires of hell, but it worked.

It also kind of hurt my hand a bit. And by a bit, I mean I had quite a few scrapes and such on my hand.

Stupid wall. Not only did you impede my escape, but you hurt me as I forced you out of my way.

Anyway, I took off, screaming something about me being the teal wolf that would one day rule the world and would use my god-tier nipple blades in order to do it.

Aside from making me sound like a raving lunatic, it served its purpose: attracting the attention of everyone who was still currently in the building.

Within seconds, Akitsu was next to me. I quickly hid behind her, using her a meat-shield in case Matsu was in one of her 'smothering' moods.

Matsu had the stupid idea of calling out for me, which would, you know, kinda piss off someone who had promised herself to me now and forever.

It was also insanely stupid of her to say it in such a seductive tone when Miya and Minato had just arrived home, with Homura and Uzume in tow.

Watching Matsu run for her life from the combined forces of Miya and Akitsu was rather amusing. Downright hilarious, actually. Uzume and I were literally hanging onto each other for support; Homura face palmed, Minato laughed nervously, and Musubi and Ku had looks of confusion on their faces, both having only just come downstairs to see what the commotion was.

God, I loved my new dysfunctional family.

A/N: Whew. Another chapter done. That took a lot longer than I thought it was going to…Bleh. Anyway, please review, and a late Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and of course a belated birthday to myself (December 21).


	5. Minato's Dream, Zach's Problems

A/N: Chapter five! Wow, I'm like a 1/10th of the way done! Roughly, anyway. …Why does it seem like I have a long way to go? Probably because I do…eh, oh well.

I'm probably not going to have much time to update this as much as I would like…not to mention the other two stories I have going…I've got a few things coming up in my life, and life's probably going to be more hectic for me for awhile, so don't expect too many updates for now, okay? I am truly sorry for this, but just to let you know, I have no intentions on letting my stories die!

On a side note, I have come across quite a few stories that haven't been updated in a couple of years that the author said that…

Whatever! I shall be different! All I need is inspiration, and not get side-tracked. Easier said than done, but again, whatever.

On another side note, did anyone else seem to think that I got way off subject in the last chapter, towards the end? I was just typing Akitsu and Homura's conversation, next thing I know…BAM! I was off topic completely. Meh, no one's complained, so obviously nobody cares. This whole paragraph was pointless. Oh well.

Let's get on with the show!

Chapter Five: Minato's Dream, and Zach's Problem

'Twas just your average day at Izumo Inn; the birds were singing, the bees were stinging some poor unfortunate soul, Minato and myself were being treated to massive nosebleeds due to Musubi, Uzume, and Akitsu having no sense of modesty whatsoever, and Miya was taking away the dinner privileges of the aforementioned five, along with Matsu for just being herself.

Again, just your average day at Izumo Inn.

I was quite used to the lifestyle at the old Inn; unlike that apartment with that dick face who called himself a manager, it was quite nice. Just don't do anything bad (or at least don't get caught by Miya, which was almost impossible), and you'll be fine.

Surprisingly enough, I got off just fine from when Miya caught Matsu trying to molest me. I got a whack to the head, which may or may not have caused permanent brain damage, but other than that, I was home free. She even allowed Akitsu to freeze Matsu in a block of ice and leave her like that for a couple hours before she finally told Homura to melt the ice.

According to Matsu, being frozen for a few hours is torture, being unable to move. Also, apparently being engulfed in flames right after you get unfrozen hurts a lot too. I kinda felt sorry for her.

I had a change of heart when she managed to lock me and Minato in my room later that day. She just doesn't learn…

It was fun to hear her scream as Miya whacked her upside the head repeatedly. Come to think of it, maybe all those blows to the head is messing with her brain or her memory, which is why she keeps doing those things…maybe I should tell Miya my suspicions…

…Nah, it was much more fun to watch Matsu run around as fast as she could in order to, in vain, get away from Miya. Totally worth any scarring she managed to do to me.

Then again, I guess I should've known that this was just the calm before the storm. And as I found out, that storm was going to come full force soon.

It all began when Minato began having these strange dreams. After Uzume and I teased him about wet dreams for a bit (with Matsu having an episode in the background the whole time), he explained to us just what the dreams were.

Apparently, there was this attractive blonde who was dressed in some weird…well, dress. Anyway, all the woman would do was turn around, look at him in the eye, and say "I will kill you." And then he would wake up.

…Kinda anti-climatic, but that's just what I think.

Matsu did a search on her, and we discovered that the woman in question was Sekirei Number 09, Tsukiumi. She was the water Sekirei, in contrast to Homura and Akitsu, who were the fire and ice Sekirei, respectively. She was also an Ashikabi hater, for whatever reason. Matsu and Miya explained that Minato's dreams probably had something to do with Tsukiumi's destiny, which I roughly translated to Tsukiumi becoming Minato's next Sekirei. Just what we need, a violent banshee running amok here.

…That was kinda mean, but hey, she was threatening the life of the man who had just become my best friend, practically. Nobody threatens my friend's life without MY say-so, except for me!

Or at least that's how it was in my delusional world.

Continuing on, we pondered on what to do about this. The most obvious action was to confront this Tsukiumi (preferably with Musubi, Ku, Shiina and Akitsu all surrounding her, ready to strike in case she tries to attack Minato, along with perhaps Miya and Homura for good luck), but we weren't really keen on having even the slightest chance of Minato dying.

We decided in the end that Minato was always going to have at least one Sekirei at his side at all times, with me and Akitsu volunteering to be back up bodyguards.

With that settled, we managed to settle back into our daily routines, somewhat.

I also met a new Ashikabi the other day.

Minato had met him at work, apparently, and it seemed that Miya knew him (her husband was apparently the man's best friend). His name was Seo, and with him came two Sekirei, Hikari and Hibiki. They seemed to be twins; the only way to tell the difference between them was their personality and their color-Hikari wore a blue maid's outfit (Minato told me in a hushed voice that in combat, they wore S&M costumes, much to my amusement) and was much more emotional and had quite a short temper; in contrast, Hibiki wore a similar outfit to her twin, only differing in color (red instead of blue), and her personality was a polar opposite of Hikari's as well, being quiet and, in my opinion, more mature.

…Actually, that opinion of her vanished instantly once both sisters began beating up Seo, calling him worthless, a pig, etc. Miya seemed to dislike Seo quite a bit, calling him swine repeatedly, calling upon her hannyo mask a lot, and only giving him food out of pity for the twins and "because Seo was my dear husband's best friend".

I also found out that it was due to Hikari and Hibiki that Minato met all of his Sekirei, with the exception of Matsu. They chased Musubi right into him (literally) and they helped Minato make his way through the forest where Shiina and Ku were hiding from Akitsu's previous owner, Mikogami. Akitsu tensed up at this; I grabbed her hand, rubbing it soothingly. She relaxed considerably, although still seemingly on edge.

Speaking of on edge…there was one more thing that happened. Recently, it seems that I have been getting threat letters. Most of them said something along the lines of "give back what you stole" and such. Some of them even had things that this mystery person would do to me if I didn't give in to his/hers demands. I laughed at this; most of them were pathetic. I kinda wished to meet this person; I'd show them how to properly threaten somebody. If anything, those letters made me LESS on guard.

We had somewhat of an idea of who the sender might be; Mikogami, Akitsu's former Ashikabi. After all, he was the only one who I have 'stolen' from recently, if you could call it that. Not that I steal things on a regular basis or anything…

Then again, we didn't have any proof. Seo said he'd look into it, at a reasonable price (in other words, giving him food), which, despite Miya's glares and protests, I agreed to. Better he gets whacked for it than me, I say. 'Sides, he seemed trustworthy enough. A bit dodgy, but at the same time I could somehow tell he was going to keep his promise. I think I made his whole life seem worthwhile once I agreed to 'hire' him.

"You mean it? Seriously?" he asked excitedly. Both Hikari and Hibiki looked at me with a somewhat pitying expression, probably concerned for my mental health. And with all of those whacks Miya has given to me to my face via the back of my head, I probably shouldn't blame them. I should also maybe get that checked out…

But I nodded, much to Miya's chagrin, it seemed.

"I'm not so good at sleuthing as I'd like to say that I am, seeing as how I can barely sneak around a freaking log-and a dead one at that-so, I'll entrust this to you. Mind you," I added as an afterthought, glancing at Miya, "You will not being getting 'paid' until you get some information, so don't come here empty-handed and expect to leave with anything."

Seo nodded. "Of course, of course. As you say, Boss." He smirked at his joke (if you could call it that), saluted, and, grabbing hold of a couple of the bags that Miya had so generously given him, and left with the twins in tow.

Miya still gave me a questioning look, but then shrugged it off, or at least for now, and headed for her room.

Following her lead, I headed back to my own room.

Oddly enough, for all of Miya's rules against 'improper relationships' and such, she allowed me and Akitsu to room together. It seemed that Miya trusted us, at least; she forced Musubi to sleep with Uzume, and Matsu was confined to her room at night. Ku and Shiina slept with Miya, and lastly Minato and Homura ended up sharing a room. I was giving a warning (courtesy of a hannyo mask) that if anything 'improper' happened between me and my Sekirei, I would be forced to move in with Minato and Homura.

Needless to say, I was on my best behavior. Even though Minato was now my bestest friend foreverest and Homura was a pretty cool guy most of the time, I didn't really want to spend my nights in the same room as them. I had gotten used to using Akitsu as a pillow, thank you very much. I just had to make sure I was up before Miya was in order to avoid her catching us.

Then again, she always seems to be up before the rest of us, so maybe she just really doesn't care, as long as it doesn't escalate into something more. I mean, after the first few nights of Akitsu waking up naked, I began forcing her to wear clothes that were harder to slip out of in her sleep.

I also had to make sure she was wearing underwear. She's a good girl and all, but she tends to forget things like that. How she does it, I'll never know.

Lately Akitsu has been getting somewhat distant from me and Uzume. As much as I would've liked to pass it off as her time of month, somehow I knew otherwise.

As you know, Uzume is an unwinged Sekirei. I am an Ashikabi. Put two and two together. By the way, two and two equals four, for those of you who aren't at that level in math yet. Or twenty two, if you want to get smart. Or even eight fish. But I'm getting off topic here.

I'm almost positive Uzume is reacting to me, and I don't think Akitsu likes it very much. As a matter of fact, Minato, Homura and Miya all came to me at different points in time, asking/accusing/threatening me about my situation with the two girls. Needless to say, the conclusion was such-do something about it.

Not that I haven't been trying, mind you. But what else am I supposed to do? I mean, to Sekirei, fate is everything. Who am I to deny Uzume her fate? If she thinks its her fate to become my Sekirei, then I should allow her that freedom, right?

On the other hand, I think Akitsu is fearful that I will leave her behind once I wing Uzume. Now, I might be a bit of a douche bag at times, but I'm not heartless. But Akitsu doesn't seem to know that. I guess I shouldn't blame her after the way Mikogami treated her. Making a mental note to punch the rich brat's face in at the next opportunity, I set out to find Akitsu.

It was time we had a talk.

A/N: Whew, done. I had troubles figuring out how to end this chapter. But I must say that I like how it turned out. Still feels like it's missing something though…

Despite what I said when I made that plan a couple of chapter ago, I've decided that Tsukiumi will be introduced/winged right before Mikogami's arc. So she will be turning up next chapter, and will probably be winged the chapter after that.

By the way, in case if you were wondering, I proved that two plus two equals eight fish. I would love to explain it right now, but it'd be kinda difficult without me actually showing you.

Ahem. Until next time.

Next time: Zach has a little chit-chat with Akitsu, and Tsukiumi makes her debut!


	6. Silence! I Kill You!

A/N: Well, here we are again, a lot sooner than I expected. Turns out I have more free time than what I thought, so I figured that I might as well get as many chapters up on all of my current works as I possibly can.

I was originally going to have Tsukiumi talk like she does in the manga and anime (all formal and Old English and that kinda crap), but in the end it annoyed me having to go back and change 'does' to 'doth' and similar things like that, so I said to hell with it, she's talking like everybody else does.

The fight with Akitsu part was easily the hardest part of the chapter. It took me a long time to figure out what to say. I'm still not too sure about it, but I tried my best. I just didn't know what to have Zach say in response to Akitsu's accusations that wouldn't make a woman (in real life) fly off the handle. It was so tough…

But enough of my rambling. Enjoy the newest chapter of Broken No More.

Disclaimer: If I owned Sekirei, would I be writing this? Didn't think so.

* * *

Chapter Six: Silence! I kill you!

Tsukiumi glared off into the horizon. Somewhere out there, just somewhere, was a monkey. Now, to her, all humans are monkey, but this monkey is…special. This special monkey, whom we shall refer to as Minato Sahashi, is the cause of Tsukiumi's recent troubles. Now, Tsukiumi and Minato have never met in real life, so you may be wondering why Tsukiumi has it out for the poor man.

Well, if you ask Tsukiumi-not that she would answer you, but it's the thought that counts-she would tell you that this monkey (Minato) was going to defile her. As in molest, rape, touching inappropriately, ravish, whatever you want to call it. Look up synonyms for the word rape if you want more.

And if you asked her what she was going to do to this so-called rapist, the answer would come quick. It would be simple as well.

"I'll kill him."

Or, in leetspeak, "I pwn joo."

But most people aren't fluent in leetspeak, so the point there is moot.

Tsukiumi jumped from her (rather high) place as she began to search the city.

That monkey would feel her wrath today.

* * *

Minato sneezed several times in succession. I looked over at him.

"Somebody's talking about you." I noted.

Homura rolled his eyes. "You believe in that superstition?"

"Do you have a cold, Minato?" I asked.

"I don't think so…" He replied, uncertainly.

I smugly looked at Homura. "See? He doesn't have a cold, so therefore, somebody was talking about him. Now pay up."

Homura looked bewildered. "But we didn't be anything…"

I sighed. "Yeah I know…for one thing I was just trying to con you out of some money," Homura gave me a dirty look, "and…well, I guess I'm trying to put off talking to Akitsu. I'm not very good at talking about this particular subject."

"Well, if you don't talk to her, it's only going to get worse." Homura pointed out, Minato nodding in agreement.

I sighed again. "You're right…well, if you find me frozen in the backyard later, you guys can have my stuff."

As I left, I heard Minato say "You don't think she'll actually kill him, do you?"

Homura chuckled. "As long as he doesn't say anything TOO stupid…"

I had a sudden urge to go back and smash his face in. If only he wasn't a Sekirei…

Oh well. I could get my revenge some other way…like trapping him in a room with Matsu. I shuddered at the thought. Never mind, that was too evil…

I quickly dismissed that train of thought, mostly to preserve my sanity, but also because I had found my goal.

I sat down next to my absent-minded Sekirei.

"Hey."

She looked at me, then returned her attention to watching the grass grow. I sighed for the third time in a matter of minutes; this might be a bit harder than I thought.

"Okay, I can tell something's wrong. I have a feeling I know what, too. Can you please talk to me?"

She merely gave me a despondent look.

I sighed again, which was becoming a bad habit quickly.

"I'm sorry if I've been all buddy-buddy with Uzume lately. I know I haven't been spending much time with you at all…and I am sorry. All you would've had to do was say something, and I would've been at your side immediately."

Her look darkened. I gulped; I had a bad feeling I was on a one-way trip to Winter Wonderland. Minus the sparkling snow and adding an icy death.

"Is that all…you are going to do?" I gave her a confused look.

"You're just going to apologize…and think that will make things better?"

"I never said that. What I'm trying to say is-"

"What? That you are sorry that you are spending time with a more attractive woman? That you are sorry that you all but abandoned me these last couple of days?" Her voice became colder, as did the temperature. The situation was getting very dangerous; not only was she pissed, but she had brought up the touchy subject of abandoning. One wrong move or word, and I was going to find out how cold the ninth circle of hell was first-hand.

I carefully chose my words.

"Akitsu, I would never abandon you. I will admit my wrongdoings. I have been neglecting you, and no matter what I say, no matter how many times I apologize, it's not going to make things better. But I promise that I will make it up to you…regardless of what I need to do. You are important to me Akitsu. You're my Sekirei…and you're so much more to me, as well."

Akitsu looked up at me in shock. I had to resist saying something sarcastic that would've ruined the moment.

"I'm…I'm…more to you?"

I nodded. "Of course. You're my friend, Akitsu. Not just my Sekirei. All of the memories that we have, all of the time we've spent together-which, while short, is nonetheless some of the best moments of my life. Nothing will ever change that."

She looked down, obviously ashamed of herself. I patted her on the back.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm at fault here. I should've been spending more time with you than I have been." She shook her head.

"No…I should've known that with you being an Ashikabi you would've had more Sekirei react to you…I just didn't want to share you with anyone. I thought you would abandon me once you got somebody else…I should've known better."

I shrugged. "Still, it's my fault, and mine alone. I promise I'll make it up to you in some way."

She sniffed, tears falling from her eyes. She threw herself at me, arms wrapping around me as she cried into my chest.

I heard movement, and looked up. Homura was there, smiling at me.

"Nicely said,"

I smiled back.

"It was all the truth."

I stroked Akitsu's hair, holding her tightly. I had no clue how long we sat there, but, despite the circumstances that brought us to this point, I enjoyed myself. After all, I was with my friend, my Sekirei.

What more could I ask for?

* * *

Tsukiumi looked at the tender scene below her. She growled at the monkey that was holding number 07, even though nobody heard her. She also growled because she finally found the place where that worthless monkey she was seeking was living at.

She knew it was suicide to attack; after all, number 01 owned this place. If she attacked, there was no doubt she would be slaughtered before she could even begin to attack that monkey. Not to mention there were other Sekirei there; her rival, number 06 was there, as was number 07. Those two would be hard to beat. Number 10 was there too, making things that much more difficult.

She would have to wait until the monkey left the safety of the old Inn before she made her move.

* * *

Homura sighed as he looked up to where he could easily see his 'rival'. Great. Just what he needed. Tsukiumi was already here, and it was obvious who she was after. But should he interfere? It wasn't like he needed to protect Tsukiumi from being attacked by anyone like he had once done with Musubi; it would be risky for him to do it anyway, since Miya would not appreciate one of her tenants being attacked. No, he would lie in wait, and would only act if necessary.

Besides, it was so much fun to tease Tsukiumi, and it was impossible to do that if she was dead.

* * *

There was another set of eyes watching Tsukiumi carefully. Two sets, actually. Miya and Uzume stood side-by-side, watching the volatile Water Sekirei with calculating and worried eyes, respectively. Miya turned to Uzume.

"I trust you are ready to fight to protect this place if you must, correct?" Miya said, seriousness just oozing from her.

Uzume nodded, although she still appeared to be somewhat reluctant. "I just hope that nobody gets hurt…"

Miya smiled morbidly. "I'm sure we could get over the loss of those two lust fiends." She said, referring to the two resident male Ashikabi. In his room and outside respectively, Minato and Zach sneezed.

Uzume rolled her eyes. "Hah hah. Very funny."

Miya chuckled. "I thought it was."

"I didn't," said a voice. Turning, both Sekirei noticed Zach carrying in Akitsu, who appeared to be sleeping.

"My my. There wouldn't be anything I need to know about, now would there be?" Miya said, the hannyo mask appearing behind her once again. Once again, to her shock, Zach seemed totally unfazed by it.

"Oh yes, Landlady. After she was done crying her eyes out, Akitsu and I passionately made love right in front of Homura, our murderous 'friend' outside, and with our resident pervert watching us via video camera." Zach replied, rolling his eyes.

"So, did you guys make up?" Uzume asked.

"Yep. I don't know where the words came from though. They seemed to be the right things to say. Not that I didn't mean them, mind you."

Uzume smiled, while Miya's mouth twitched.

"Anyway, I'm taking her upstairs to our room." Zach said. As he passed Uzume, he muttered as quietly as he could, "Could you come upstairs in a bit? There's something I need to talk about with you, as well."

Uzume nodded. As Zach headed up the stairs, she turned to Miya.

"I think I'm going to have a quick nap, too. Call me down when we have supper." And with that, she followed the young Ashikabi up the stairs.

Miya turned to the window, watching as Homura approached their 'guest' and seemed to start up a conversation with her. She had pretended to not hear what Zach had said to Uzume, although she knew what it was likely about.

On second thought, it wasn't just what it was 'likely' about; she knew perfectly well what it was about. She grimaced. Feelings that had once lost on her were returning, and she was having mixed feelings about them. And it was all due to that young man.

She shook her head. As long as she didn't leave any openings, nobody would ever know. She could only hope that she didn't start appearing in his dreams…

* * *

I laid Akitsu down on her bed. Covering her up with her blanket, I smiled as I watched her sleep peacefully, a smile on her face. I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Turning, I walked outside of my room, being as quiet as I could.

Sure enough, as per my request, Uzume was standing there. She smiled at me.

"Well, I'm here. What'd you want to talk about?"

"What else?" I asked.

She sighed. "Yeah, I thought so." Sitting down, she looked up at me.

"Well? What are we going to do about it?"

I held the bridge of my nose. "For now, nothing. After this whole ordeal, I think it's obvious that's she's not going to be comfortable with another Sekirei in 'competition' with her, so to speak. I think it's best just to give her more time."

Uzume nodded. "Yes, that's probably for the best. Although I don't know how much longer I can take it…the urge gets stronger every day." She gave me a significant look. I applied my palm to my face.

"Yes, well, do your best to hold it in. I've got the feeling that, with the arrival of our little 'friend' outside, things are going to get ugly soon. There's gonna be a lot of pressure and stress around here."

Uzume grimaced. "You noticed her, too?"

I grinned. "Well, Homura did. Why else do you think I came in as soon as I did? I didn't want Akitsu to be taken out of this twisted game while she was defenseless."

Uzume got up. "I just hope we all make it through this whole thing…I don't really want to fight against any of you."

I patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, as long as we have Miya around, we should be fine. We've got a few single numbers here anyway, which means that we have a good chance of surviving. We just gotta be smart about this."

She pulled me into an embrace. "I hope so…"

For the second time that day, I held a woman, trying to comfort her. I'm such a player, aren't I?

I heard shouting from outside. Turning, I saw Minato…approaching the woman that was GOING TO KILL HIM!

Uzume and I took one look at each other, before she dashed downstairs and I burst into the room, waking Akitsu up in an extremely rude fashion.

"Zach, wha-"

"No time!" I shouted. "We've got trouble!"

Grabbing her by the hand, I quickly led her downstairs and outside. Thankfully, Minato was still alive.

Tsukiumi was glaring at him, water swirling around her.

"I finally got you to come out, you monkey," She snarled. "I will never let you defile me! Now die! WATER CELEBRATION!"

I watched in horror as a huge amount of water charged towards the helpless Minato. Everything seemed to slow down. I was aware that I was running towards him with the intent to knock him out of the way, but I wasn't getting there as fast as I would've liked to be.

Minato just merely looked resigned, as the water got closer and closer. Then, an explosion, and Minato was covered by steam.

"MINATO!" Our voices chorused as one.

A/N: Well, that's that. Hopefully I'll have another chapter posted soon. Nice cliffhanger, eh?

By the way, is it hannyo or hannya? I've seen people use both, and I'm not entirely sure which one is correct…


	7. Minato's Wife, And Our Troubles Begin

A/N: Here I am again, dood! Chapter seven is here, dood! Now, for the thrilling conclusion of the Introduction Arc, dood!

Ahem. Okay, I'm done saying dood, dood. Er, sorry. Ahem.

Anyway, yes, this is the last chapter before the real action begins. The fight scenes may suck at first, since I haven't really written any of those either. It's gonna be a pain when it comes to deciding how long I want each fight to last, especially against stronger Sekirei. But I guess I'll do my best, as always.

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Sekirei.

Chapter Seven: Minato's 'Wife' and the Beginning of Our Troubles

* * *

Steam hung in the air. I still had my hand outstretched from my failed attempt to rescue Minato from a watery death.

Rage coursed through me. How dare this soggy pond princess come and murder my best friend right before my eyes? That son of a bitch. She will PAY.

Evidently my anger was shared by quite a few people. Akitsu and Uzume were glaring daggers at Tsukiumi, promising pain. Miya…still looked impassive. Well, screw you too, Miya. Nice to know that you don't even care that one of your tenants was murdered right in front of your face.

Musubi, Ku, and Shiina looked downright murderous. Matsu, in her own way, also had similar features on her face, although there was a hint of perversion; I shuddered slightly, not even daring imagining the things she will do to Tsukiumi before finally letting her die. I almost began to feel sorry for the pond princess. Almost.

Then it hit me; Akitsu once mentioned that if an Ashikabi is killed, all of his/her Sekirei would be terminated. In other words, they would drop dead, or at least fall unconscious. So why was Minato's Sekirei all still standing?

I looked at Homura. No expression. Just staring at Tsukiumi. With his hand stretched out…right towards where Minato was standing before. Could he have-?

A battle cry assaulted my ears. As one, Musubi, Ku and Shiina all ran at Tsukiumi, plants bursting through the ground to strangle the blonde witch, Musubi's fists glowing with unrestrained energy, the grass decaying as Shiina passed. They were all about to undoubtedly slaughter Tsukiumi, when-

"STOP! DON'T HURT HER!"

All three of the Sekirei stopped. They turned around, unbelieving. The owner of the voice, who they presumed dead, stepped out of the steam.

Minato smiled at Homura. "Thanks for the fire shield at the last second. I thought I was a goner for sure."

Homura shrugged. "Miya would have murdered me if I didn't do anything to stop your death."

Minato began walking towards Tsukiumi. She tried to conjure up water, but it was all repelled by a burst of fire and the water freezing; Homura and Akitsu were doing their job of protecting Minato. But what was he doing?

Minato stopped just short of Tsukiumi. I suddenly sensed a corny and sappy speech approaching…

"Look, I don't know what I did to you," Minato began, "But that's no reason to come and attack me. Surely we can talk things out." I groaned; I had been right on the money. I began to tone out Minato's voice as he went into the whole 'we can work this out' speech.

* * *

Several hours later, I woke up from my nap on Akitsu's lap. Uzume was sleeping on my chest, Ku, Shiina and Musubi were all sleeping in a small heap, Miya and Homura were nowhere to be found, and Minato…

"-So, those are all the reasons why we can work this out through talking and not fighting. All right?"

Tsukiumi had a dazed look on her face. In a dazed voice, she said, "Yes, let's talk this out."

I groaned. Dear god, Minato, you frigging brainwashed somebody.

Hmm. I wonder if I talked to Miya for a few hours about how it was alright to have sexual relations-

WHACK!

…In retrospect, I should've totally seen that coming.

With that out of the way, we gathered up everyone who was sleeping, and went inside. I took the liberty of raiding the fridge for something to snack on, and once again got brain-damaged, courtesy of Miya and her ladle. Seriously, does she carry that thing EVERYWHERE?

Making my way back into the dining room, I arrived just in time to hear Tsukiumi saying "You are my Ashikabi…now, and forever." and promptly got blinding by the flash of light that signified a winging.

As soon as I could trust my eyesight again, I finished my quest of making it to the dining room. And was promptly thrown back out due to the sheer force of Tsukiumi's voice.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T SLEEP WITH MY HUSBAND?"

…Husband? Oh dear, I have a bad feeling about this…

Wait…sleeping with Minato? How come he gets to sleep with his Sekirei (in THAT way) and I can only cuddle with mine?

One blow to the head later, I watched in amusement as everyone else was scared out of their mind as Miya pulled out her hannya mask.

"You WILL adhere to the rules of Izumo Inn…or there will be dire consequences…am I understood?" Miya asked, a demonic aura exuding off her.

"Y-yes! As they say, when in Rome, do as Romans do!" Tsukiumi yelped, fear evident in her voice.

I barely repressed my laughter on the look on her face. I also had to restrain myself from making any jokes about her wetting herself. C'mon, she's the WATER Sekirei. Get it? Yes, I'm sure you do. But Miya was in the room, and I felt like I've had enough brain damage for one day. Telling Miya to not make supper for me, I went up to my room.

* * *

Knowing perfectly well I was not going to get any sleep any time soon, I decided to do some organizing. So I spent an hour or two going through boxes, throwing away crap I didn't need anymore, laughing at old memories, and promptly putting them back.

I was on my final box when I discovered a picture, long forgotten. I smiled at it. It brought back so many memories.

A noise alerted me to somebody entering the room. To my great surprise, it was not Akitsu, or Uzume. It wasn't even Minato or Homura. It was Miya. It appeared that she went and made my supper anyway, and was obviously going to force-feed it to me if I refused.

Waving my hand towards the table, she sat it down on said table. Then she walked over to me.

"I didn't peg you as a photographer," she noted, looking at my picture.

"I'm not. This is just a picture to remind me of all of my old friends." I replied, smiling as I turned back to the picture.

Miya leaned in closer. Figuring she wanted an explanation, I began pointing out my friends.

"Okay, that's me in the middle, obviously. On my right side, that's my best friend, Alex. On my left, that's Craig. On the other side of Alex is Dylan, and Cody K. is in front of him. In front of me and Craig are Sarah and Jessica, respectively. To Craig's other side is Jill, with Matt being in front of Jill. And that's Cody L. in front of Alex."

"Quite a collection of friends you have there," Miya said. I chuckled.

"Yeah, they're all a bunch of weirdoes. Then again, I can't really talk, seeing as how I'm the same as them. They were all rough around the edges in their own way, but I couldn't ask for a better group of friends." I smiled, touching the picture fondly.

"Do you miss them?" asked a voice. Startled, I looked up. Akitsu, Uzume and Minato all stood there. I relaxed.

"Yeah, I guess so. Then again, they have their own lives to live, so I can't complain too much."

"What about your family? Do you have any pictures of them?" Uzume asked. I laughed at that.

"Well, I do, but not on me. Besides, I've got two families, even excluding my friends, who are my extended family."

Receiving blank looks, I sighed.

"Okay, my parents got divorced not too long ago. My mom met this guy online who lives in London. So, I've got two families. My dad is still in the States, and is, as far as I know, single. My sister is currently living with in Chicago, although she might've moved to Kansas. I haven't talked to her recently. And my mom is in London, living with her boyfriend, although they are going to marry soon. So, once they marry, I will have three more sisters to deal with, as well as a niece. So, I've got two families, see?"

A look of understanding crossed their faces. "So, are you close with your family?" Minato asked. I laughed again, although it was a bit hollow.

"Kind of. Me and my dad have never really seen eye-to-eye, due to him being a typical male who likes sports, working on cars, masculine type things. Me, on the other hand, was quite content to sit inside and play videogames, fool around on the computer, and read. Although he has tried to make amends with me recently, although I think it's quite possible just because he didn't want me to move away with mom, since their relationship was strained after the divorce, which is kinda understandable.

"My sister, on the other hand, was in a kind of love-hate relationship with me. Well, at least on my end. I can stand to be around her for a certain amount of time, but she tends to get on my nerves really fast, since I preferred being alone most of the time. It wasn't that I was withdrawn, it's just that whenever I was around my family for too long, we tended to fight a lot, so I decided that I didn't want any part in that. Other than that, my sister and I got along rather well.

"My mom and I had the best relationship, although it was strained most of the time. She has rheumatoid arthritis, and was in constant pain. Not to mention that she was a human smokestack, so I didn't hang around her much, since the smoke always seemed to follow me no matter where I went. But, despite that, we got along rather well, although she was frequently cranky due to the amount of pain she was in.

"So, yeah. That's my family life for you."

They all looked unsure as what to think of my family life. I waved it off.

"It's in the past now. Besides, I guess I could say you guys are my family now, too. So, I've got four families. I'm pretty lucky, don't you think?"

They all smiled and nodded at that. I was in the middle of gulping down my dinner when we heard rapid footsteps. Matsu burst into the room, panting.

"We've got trouble. A couple Sekirei are approaching the Inn. They look like they mean business."

I caught Minato's eye. A look of understanding shot between us; there was only one person who would attack the Inn like this.

* * *

All of us rushed downstairs, with mine and Minato's Sekirei taking defensive positions in front of us, with the addition of Uzume. Homura and Miya stood off to the side, both ready in case if we truly needed help.

As Matsu had said, two Sekirei were approaching us. Akitsu gasped in recognition. I grimaced; it looked like I was right.

"Broken Sekirei Akitsu," One of them said. "We are here to take you back to our master."

The other looked at me accusingly. "Stealing another person's Sekirei; you're the worst!"

I glared at her. "And who are you to call me a thief?"

"We are numbers 38 and 39, Mitsuha and Mitsuki!" They both shouted. "And we will take back our comrade, one way or another!"

A whip shot out and headed towards Minato, while I was suddenly constricted by something invisible.

"That string is made by MBI!" shouted Homura.

Musubi intercepted the whip, smashing her fist into it. I noticed movement; a second later, I was on the ground. I looked up. Miya had her sword out, and was glaring at the two Sekirei who had dared to attack her tenants, hannya mask and all. Homura helped me up; I turned to glare at our opponents.

It was show time.

A/N: And there you have it! The Introduction Arc is complete! Yet another cliffhanger, but it keeps you in suspense, doesn't it?

And I've discovered that it is hannya, not hannyo. So, I'll need to go change it in my previous chapters at some point.

With that, I bid you adieu. Stay tuned for the beginning of the Mikogami Arc!


	8. Omake!

A/N: I know! I should be working on the next chapter-and I am! But I had this omake just rolling around in my head, and I couldn't get rid of it! Sure, I could've just put it at the end of the next chapter, but what fun is that?

Hokay. So, this fast-forwards through the events of the story-to the end of the story, in fact. So, that means that Kazehana and Yume are in it.

Disclaimer: Sekirei is NOT mine in any way, shape or form.

Omake 1: Drinking Games

"It's so boring around here," I muttered. We were sitting around the table at Izumo Inn. Surprisingly, Miya had been kind enough to let Seo, Hibiki and Hikari all over (without threatening 3000 times in the process like she normally does). Minato was sitting across the table from me, with Ku sitting in his lap and his other Sekirei surrounding him. Seo was sitting on the left side of the table (to my left, anyway) with Hikari and Hibiki on either side of him; Yukari, Minato's sister, was on the right side of the table, with her mother sitting next to her. Currently I was using Uzume as a pillow, with Akitsu wrapped in my arms, with Miya sitting at my feet, acting like a hospitable host (although that hospitality was seriously strained by Seo's existence).

"Damn, if only I wasn't so lazy and would get the next chapter up…" I mumbled. Heads turned to me.

"What?" Several voices asked in unison, clearly fearing for my sanity.

I coughed. "Nothing." Inwardly, I gulped. I had just broken through the fourth wall-a dangerous thing to do, particularly with the current group that I was in. I had probably almost created a time paradox or something like that. Then again, as I was nothing more than a self-inserted character (and therefore not technically a person of the Sekirei world to begin with), I had probably already created more time paradoxes than anyone else ever had.

Then again, creating a paradox with my current group was not the wisest thing; just imagine the chaos that this group of psychopaths would bring if they were released into, oh, I don't know, the REAL world.

Suddenly, everyone but me sneezed. I hoped it wasn't too conspicuous.

Finally Kazehana spoke up.

"Well, what are we going to do?" She took a swig of sake while she was at it. That sparked an idea.

"That's it! Kazehana, you are a genius!"

If everybody wasn't already considering throwing me in the loony bin due to my fourth-wall breaking, they certainly were now. I rolled my eyes.

"We'll do a drinking game!" I exclaimed, to which Kazehana probably would've glomped me for. Although with Miya within earshot, eyeshot, and everything else in between (and…not…in between), she didn't dare do it. We didn't need a murder, especially after all of the hell we just went through.

Miya gave me a weird look. "You wouldn't be trying to pull any funny stuff, would you?"

"Nah, just trust me on this one! We're all bored anyway; might as well get plastered! Well, except for Ku and Shiina; they can't drink alcohol. They can have grape juice or something."

Minato gave me a cautious look. "And how will this drinking game work?"

"Simple! All you have to do is take a drink whenever I give you a prompt, and it happens!"

Everyone more or less agreed to it; like I had repeatedly said, we had nothing better to do now that we had stopped Minaka's mad plan.

I grinned.

"Alright, here goes. Every time Miya pulls out her hannya mask, we take a drink!"

Now, I was fully expecting her to pull one out on me for even daring to suggest using her as part of this game. To my great surprise, nothing happened. I waited, and waited. Still nothing.

I turned around and grabbed Uzume's boob, making sure Miya got a good long look at it. Nothing. I frowned.

I got up (dislodging Akitsu as I did so), walked around the table, and promptly groped Kazehana and Yume. Other than getting gasps from everyone (as well as angry huffs from Uzume and Akitsu), nothing.

"You aren't even going to pull it out for that, Miya?" She gave me a shocked look.

"Now, why would I pull out a scary mask for something like that? You're just acting on your urges after all; you're a healthy growing man. That's perfectly acceptable."

My eye started twitching. For the record, it was my right eye.

I needed a new plan.

"Ok…I got it! Every time Kazehana takes a drink, the rest of us take a drink!"

Kazehana, who had apparently walked out of the room without me noticing in the last few seconds, walked back in.

"Well, it looks like I'm gonna have to stop drinking. I'm pregnant!" She squealed as she glomped Minato.

Now I was getting mad. I knew that they had to be screwing with me. It was like they KNEW how to counter my every move.

My other eye was now twitching as well.

"Ok! Then every time…Miya calls Seo worthless or trash, and every time somebody hurts him in some form, we take a drink!"

Turning to Miya, I asked, "So, what do you think of Seo?"

She deadpanned, "Seo is a surprisingly reliable man, and is a true friend to all that know him."

Oh my god.

The Apocalypse just happened.

…Ok, so I wasn't dead. What the hell? The world should've ended just then!

A breaking noise could be hurt. We watched as several sticks of dynamite all land around the table. Looking outside, I saw Minaka, who had apparently escaped from prison, riding away, laughing manically.

I looked back to the dynamite. They were all lit, and just about ready to explode…

"Ooooh! I got it! Every time we all explode and die we take a-"

BOOOOOM!

A/N: Yeah, I totally stole this idea from the video that celebrates Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged's third anniversary. But it was amusing, wasn't it? I thought it was. The ending gets me every time…

Don't worry, the next chapter is coming out soon! Sorry if I psyched you out by making you think this was the next chapter.


	9. Izumo Inn Under Attack!

A/N: Welcome, one and all, to the beginning of the Mikogami Arc!

*Fireworks start shooting up*

Holy crap, those kind of fireworks are illegal in Minnesota!

Ahem. But, anyway, first of all, I wanted to give you all big thanks for reviewing, and favoriting this story. It boosts my morale; at first, I really didn't expect it to be this popular. So, seriously, thanks, guys.

Updates might be slow for awhile, but I'll try to keep them as steady as I can.

Anyway, let's get it on!

Disclaimer: Sekirei is not mine, in anyway or form. Any OCs, however, will belong to me, as well as to the people who suggest them.

Chapter Eight: Izumo Inn Under Attack!

* * *

I cursed; damn those two Sekirei! Even though we had them outnumbered, they were putting up one hell of a fight. Everyone, even Minato and myself, were covered in scratches and bruises. Of course, this was excluding Miya from the equation, because she's a god practically, but that's kinda to be expected. The most she was doing was just protecting me and Minato from certain death.

Speaking of which, certain death seemed to favor me today.

"…!"

If we weren't in the midst of battle with a huge chance of dying, Miya would've smacked my face clear off for using such 'dirty' language. In any case, she had her hands full trying to keep those deadly strings that M.B.I created away from me. Seriously, what were those things made of? Reinforced fish line? Not only is it hard to see, but it's hard to break too. And it hurts to have it wrapped around your neck. I would know, trust me.

At least we were wearing them down fast. Musubi, as boneheaded as ever, charged straight towards them, looking to smash her fists into the back of their heads-via the face. At least she was a good distraction; it prevented me from outright dying, at any rate, so I say it's for the greater good.

Ku and Shiina weren't much help. As powerful as they are (for as young as they are), they just didn't have the experience that most of the other Sekirei had. Matsu wasn't much help either-she had long fled back into the safety of the Inn, although she claimed that she was going to get more information about Mikogami. Somehow I doubted that was the main reason…

"OW!"

I was rewarded for my lapse in concentration with a new cut on my cheek, courtesy of another one of those damn strings. Okay, if I wasn't such a pitiful human being, I'd go up to her and stab her in the face. Seriously, those cuts stung!

Fortunately, it seemed that we were making a ton of headway; Akitsu had frozen and shattered the whip belonging to Mitsuha, and Musubi had finally completed her plan of smashing her face in. Joy, one down, and the more dangerous one to go.

Said dangerous one felt the need to try to strangle me again. Damn it, why can't she try to kill Minato instead? Is it because I'm blonde? Oh wait; the blondes always die first.

Well, to hell with it all.

I dove for cover as Miya once again intercepted the damn-near invisible strings, Uzume being said cover. At least she could defend herself with her…control over cloth…

Never mind. I was screwed.

Or so I thought, until said cloth smashed into the ground where Mitsuki had been a split second before, creating a giant crater.

I take back what I said about being screwed. I think I'm in love…Err, not that I'm going to abandon Akitsu or anything.

Matsu burst out of the Inn, face completely pale. Making sure that those damned strings weren't anywhere near me, I quickly conversed with her.

"What's up?"

She had a wild look in her eyes. "I've taken a look at Mikogami's Sekirei. He has quite a few of them, equaling ours."

I shrugged. "So?"

She gave me an exasperated look. "So, he also has a single number. Said single number is number 05, Mutsu. He's one of the former Disciplinary Squad, and his power can easily equal that of Akitsu or Homura."

My jaw dropped. Matsu continued, "That's not all. It seems that Mikogami has hired several Ashikabi and Sekirei to do us in and retrieve Akitsu. They're en route now. We're surrounded."

I glanced at our Sekirei. Musubi was panting hard, her clothes almost torn off completely (I looked away quickly). Ku and Shiina were in front of Minato, determined to fight to the death to protect him, if need be. Uzume was still near me, cloth flying everywhere. Tsukiumi and Akitsu seemed to be working together in order to bring down Mitsuki. It appeared to be working. Homura and Miya were merely standing off to the side, conserving their energy.

I gulped. "Matsu?"

"Yeah?"

"I think…we might be screwed. Even with Miya, if everyone attacks at once, there's no way all of us are going to come out of this in one piece."

She gave me a hard look. "You think I don't know that?"

I groaned. A huge cracking noise drew my attention to the front of the Inn. It seemed that Musubi had gotten her wind back enough to crush Mitsuki's head into the ground. Motioning for everyone to come over, I quickly huddled everyone together.

"Okay, so it's like this; Mikogami has got us surrounded by Sekirei and Ashikabi, and we aren't looking too hot. No pun intended, Homura," I said, as he rolled his eyes.

"So, in short, I think we're screwed. Unless if you all have any bright ideas. Cuz I sure don't. Maybe if we were at full health, yes. As we are now, not so much. We may have to break through the weakest part of the enemy's forces and run like hell in order to live."

Everybody was looking grim, even Miya; she understood only too well that as powerful as she was, she couldn't possibly protect us all.

And, as if to pull off the clichéd trick of showing up when all is lost, a voice rang out.

"Giving up already? I thought you guys would put up more of a fight than this!"

We all turned. Seo, Hikari and Hibiki were walking up to us, Seo all smiles.

I groaned. Great, now he was here to finish us off and claim the prize.

As if he had read my mind, Seo smirked. "Now now now, for a reasonable price, I'll join your side in this little battle. I'll even give you a discount, since I like you guys so much!"

I think he only succeeded in pissing everyone off, but I suppose that it's the thought that counts. Gulping, I asked, "All right…what do you want?"

Seo got a thoughtful look on his face, then smirked. "Just a month's worth of food. That'll be all."

Miya pulled out the hannya mask, fully intending to intimidate Seo's asking price down to a grain of rice. I put my hand on her arm; she gave me a questioning look. I sighed. The things I do for my survival…

"All right, we have a deal. But you're here until the end, Seo; if I catch you trying to run away like a coward, I'm sure Miya won't have any regret to strike you down where you stand. Understood?"

Seo nodded, a slight bit of fear entering his expression. "Crystal."

Pleased with the results, I quickly sent my somewhat analytical brain into overdrive.

"Okay, so Musubi is injured; She should stay more towards the back of the group until she recovers enough to actually do some fighting. I highly doubt that they're all going to come around the front entrance; they'll likely jump over the fences that surround us. So, basically we've got the Inn for cover and a fortress. The only problem with that is that a strong enough Sekirei can level said fortress in a few seconds flat. We're gonna need to pull out all the stops in order to live through this."

I looked to Miya. "Miya, can I trust you on protecting the front? It'd be a huge help if we could cover as many openings as possible, and you can probably handle everything coming from the front at once." She nodded, then got into position. I quickly brought everyone to the back of the Inn.

"So here's the second point of entry. Homura, Tsukiumi. You guys should stay here. You guys are probably powerful enough to hold your own."

Leaving those two there, I ushered Musubi inside. "You rest for now. Don't try fighting unless if we absolutely need you or if you recover enough. I don't want to lose anyone, alright?" Surprisingly enough, she agreed.

"Okay, two more points. Akitsu, Uzume. You guys go on the east side of the Inn. Destroy anything not us. Hikari, Hibiki. You guys go handle the west side. Same thing as I told those two. Seo, you go with your Sekirei and use your Norito if need be." As I watched them all go off to their positions, I briefly thought that I'd make a pretty damn good tactician for an army. I quickly banished the thought, and focused on what I was doing.

"Matsu, you go inside and keep an eye on their movements. Minato, you go act as our messenger. Keep Musubi in there until she's fit to come out. And get her to change, too, will you?" Matsu cackled as I said that, Minato merely sighing and nodding before they both followed Musubi inside.

"Ku, Shiina. I would love to not have you guys fight, but desperate times call for desperate needs. You two shall be our back up in case if someone gets too injured. Until then, you guys will be my bodyguards, I guess. I'll be keeping an eye on everyone. But if you do go out and fight, please be careful."

Both nodded, and with them in two, I ran inside. After all, it was much quicker to go through the Inn to get to our various defense points than it was to run around. And much safer, too. I was sure that these mercenary Sekirei would be just fine with putting a nice big dent in my head.

I could hear Miya fighting out front already; it sounded like a whole squad of jet fighters were having seizures or something, due to the constant whooshing noises. Mmm, sonic booms.

Glancing out the nearby window, I could see Akitsu and Uzume engaging the enemy as well. Several Sekirei were already frozen in ice. I smirked.

Thunder was also a noise that I could hear; Hikari and Hibiki must be doing their jobs. I also thought that I could vaguely hear Seo swearing up a storm, but brushed it off as my imagination.

An explosion alerted me to the fact that all of our defensive points were indeed being attacked.

Just what had I done to deserve this?

* * *

A/N: And, that's a wrap. Still not very long, but hopefully the chapters will start to get longer as I progress.

Until next time.

~The Doc


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